BANGKOK, September 5th, 2025 – Thailand’s House of Representatives elected Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, as the nation’s 32nd Prime Minister on Friday, marking a big shift in the country’s turbulent political landscape. The vote, which followed a week of intense political maneuvering, saw Anutin secure a decisive victory with 311 votes out of 490 cast, surpassing the required majority of 247 in the 492-member House. His opponent, Chaikasem Nitisiri of the Pheu Thai Party, garnered 152 votes, while 27 members abstained.
Anutin’s election comes on the heels of the Constitutional Court’s removal of former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on August 29th, 2025, for ethical violations stemming from a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen. The dismissal triggered a political crisis, weakening the once-dominant Pheu Thai Party, led by the influential Shinawatra family. Anutin, a seasoned politician and former deputy prime minister, capitalized on this turmoil, securing the backing of the progressive People’s Party, the largest bloc in parliament with 143 seats.
The People’s Party, successor to the dissolved Move Forward Party, agreed to support Anutin on the condition that he dissolve parliament within four months to hold a general election and initiate a referendum on amending Thailand’s military-drafted constitution. Despite their support, the People’s Party will remain in opposition, leaving Anutin to lead a minority government.
This arrangement could pose challenges for policymaking in a country grappling with economic struggles, including weak consumption, tight lending, and rising household debt. Anutin, 58, is a political veteran known for his role as Thailand’s COVID-19 czar and for leading the decriminalization of cannabis in 2022, a policy that sparked a boom in marijuana retailers but is now under stricter regulation, although Anutin is likely to change this. A staunch royalist, he has positioned his Bhumjaithai Party as a major force, navigating Thailand’s polarized political landscape by aligning with both conservative and populist factions over the years.
His party, with 69 seats, withdrew from the Pheu Thai-led coalition in June 2025, citing disagreements over Paetongtarn’s handling of the Cambodia border dispute, which further destabilized the government.
The vote represents a massive blow to the Shinawatra dynasty, which has dominated Thai politics for over two decades but has faced repeated legal and political setbacks. Thaksin Shinawatra, the family’s patriarch and former prime minister, left Thailand for Dubai on Thursday, just hours before the vote, amid speculation about a looming Supreme Court ruling on September 9, 2025, regarding his 2023 hospital stay. The court will determine whether his time in a hospital’s VIP wing counted toward his commuted sentence for abuse of power, a decision that could see him return to jail. Thaksin, who spent 15 years in self-imposed exile, stated on social media that he would return to Thailand for the court date.
Anutin’s rise to the premiership was not without controversy. Pheu Thai’s caretaker government, led by acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, attempted to dissolve parliament earlier in the week to block Anutin’s bid, but the move was rejected by His Royal Majesty the King’s Privy Council. The failure to dissolve parliament showed Pheu Thai’s declining influence, as it struggled to maintain its coalition after Bhumjaithai’s exit and amid public discontent over unmet economic promises.
As Anutin prepares to assume office following a formal appointment from His Royal Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the coming days, analysts warn that his minority government faces a precarious path. The promise of an election within four months looms large, with the People’s Party vowing to hold him accountable through scrutiny and potential no-confidence votes if he fails to deliver. Thailand’s political instability, marked by frequent court interventions and military coups, shows no immediate signs of abating, setting the stage for a challenging tenure for the new prime minister.
For the original version of this article, please visit The Pattaya News.
